COLUMN: Rev Dave Marvin

NEAALM110504D4 - St. Mary's church Greasley. Rev Dave Marvin

Published:16:12Friday 20 December 2013

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Recently, I along with many households in the area, experienced a power cut that lasted for about 40 minutes. I don’t recall a power cut lasting that long since the miners’ strike and so it was a bit of a novelty situation. I put lots of candles in my study and the kitchen which enabled me to carry on working, albeit in a limited fashion. It wasn’t too long before the novelty wore off though and the inconvenience became an irritation. Whilst I was already aware of our dependence on electricity, as time wore on it became even more apparent. No lights, telephone, computer, TV, radio, clock and so on, even the gas-fired central heating didn’t work. Then the silence became evident, the coldness and loneliness closed in; I thought “this shouldn’t be happening in this day and age”. Even the street lights went out creating an eerie situation.

Without the use of the modern conveniences that we take for granted, life can appear to be very limiting. It doesn’t need to be though, the lack of electricity is inconvenient but it doesn’t need to feel like the end of the world. Years ago when people didn’t have the luxury of electricity, computers, TV, etc., I’m sure that they found ways to occupy themselves. Our world has moved on and progressed at an incredible rate and yet I feel that it’s a shame that some of the simple things in life have been left behind and lost to us. Just as we take electricity for granted, we can also be guilty of taking God’s creation for granted and miss appreciating the many wonders that he has given us.

So as we celebrate Christmas I think that it’s not only appropriate to give thanks for the advancement of science which provides us with so many work saving and entertainment devices, but also to give thanks to God for the many gifts that he provides for us every day.